In many ways, Vancouver is a model of inclusion — and we see the benefits all around us. Our diversity makes Vancouver more competitive, opening doors for us in the global marketplace. Our streets are more vibrant, our arts and culture scene is more dynamic, and our city is more livable.

This all starts at the neighbourhood level. In Douglas Park, where my family and I live, there is a boulevard bench on Laurel Street built for people to rest, meet and chat. The catalyst for the bench was Laurie Usher, who 22 years ago brought neighbours together to build it. She also organized the first block party of its kind that year in our neighbourhood, pushing City Hall to facilitate permits. Today, we have more than 100 car-free block parties every year, in every corner of Vancouver, just like the one Laurie and friends started.

Yet many of us feel cut off from our communities. The Vancouver Foundation’s recent study on inclusion polled more than 3,800 people; one-quarter are more alone than they’d like. Maybe that’s not too surprising; nearly three-quarters of us haven’t asked a neighbour over in the last year.

It’s not that we don’t know how to connect with each other. Facebook, Twitter, SMS and Skype have us chatting more than ever — which leads some to blame those tools for isolating us. But there are plenty of ways they can bring us closer together online and offline. And other forces — busy lives, long commutes and cultural and economic obstacles — do much more to keep us from reaching out to the folks next door or down the block.

The housing crisis hurts, too. Too many people live in substandard housing, or move out of the city and away from friends and family, compounding their isolation. And for those who do stay, simple social activities may be priced out of reach if most of their income is spoken for by next month’s rent or mortgage payment.

Seniors who find it harder to get around, or who need special care, are particularly vulnerable. When getting out of your apartment or up a flight of stairs is painful or impossible, seeing people you know and stopping to chat becomes rarer and rarer.

The emotional burden of isolation is obvious. But there are additional costs we all have to bear. Isolation impacts people’s physical and mental health, lowers productivity, breeds alienation and crime, and erases the contributions isolated people could be making to our city’s daily life.

Tackling isolation begins with recognizing and talking about it — and for this, we all owe the Vancouver Foundation a debt of thanks. We can’t address what we don’t acknowledge.

But acknowledgment is only the first step. We need to ask ourselves “what kind of people do we want to be?”

As individuals, we can make a point of getting to know more of the people in our building or on our block. The small steps taken by Laurie and her neighbours more than two decades ago created enormous community strength for our neighbourhood, enabling people of all ages to come together.

We can all take small steps to reach out to our neighbours. All of us in Vancouver should strive for a greater level of civility, empathy and kindness in our day-to-day actions with everyone we meet.

At City Hall, we can recommit to our efforts to ensure affordable housing and a livable city for all. We can do more to foster vibrant public spaces and support neighbourhood assets like boulevard benches, tables and gardens that bring people together. And we need to listen to your ideas and suggestions for encouraging strong connections inside and between our communities.

We know the appetite’s there to do more. The cross-pollination of ages, neighbourhoods and cultures is a Vancouver trademark in many of our big celebratory events like the Dragonboat Festival, Pride Parade and Sun Run. And the demand for more community gardens and car-free days and the response to farmers’ markets, festivals and long-table dinners all show how efforts large and small resonate with Vancouver’s people.

It’s time we took inclusion beyond demographics and tolerance. Let’s find the common ground across our different ethnicities, neighbourhoods, incomes and ages.

It’s not difficult — a simple bench and block party 22 years ago proved that. Let’s show the world a city can move past living side by side to truly living together.

Gregor Robertson is the mayor of Vancouver.

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Tackling isolation starts at home

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